The use of a measuring and dispensing apparatus in the form of a measuring cup or chamber positioned in a neck of a flexible wall container is known in the art. Such apparatus generally contains within its structure a bore and a discharge port in communication with the bore. Liquid is charged through the bore and port into a reservoir area contained in the measuring and dispensing apparatus. The position of the discharge port determines the manner in which the liquid flows into the reservoir. Discharge ports positioned at a side angle to the reservoir area are preferred over ports which discharge liquid straight upward into the reservoir, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,402,860, since side discharge ports avoid the splashing or wastage of the liquid which results when a liquid squirts upward.
The one-piece prior art devices utilizing a side discharge port, however, required that the bore be formed in the side wall of the measuring chamber and, accordingly, only one discharge port could be used. If a central upstanding member with side discharge ports was utilized, the measuring chamber had to be made in two pieces. Whether a costly manufacturing process is utilized or not to make the multi-part structure, the assembly of the parts is very costly. Injection molding methods presently known in the art do not provide a means of forming discharge ports in the side of a central upstanding member due to the proximity of the side walls of the measuring chamber to the side walls of the central upstanding member. Pins cannot be utilized to form the side discharge ports since no room is present in which to withdraw the pins following a molding operation.
For example, French Patent No. 1,395,827 shows a measuring chamber in FIG. 3 which has a central upstanding member with a single discharge port. The method of making the chamber is not shown. However, it would not be by injection molding as in the present invention due to the structure of the discharge port. The port structure in the side wall allows the liquid dispensed through the bore to squirt straight up since the port is not fully positioned beneath the top surface of the upstanding member.
Donoghue, U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,547, discloses a measuring chamber with a central upstanding member having a plurality of side discharge ports formed therein. However, due to the close proximity of the side walls of the measuring chamber to the central upstanding member, the side ports could not be formed by injection molding if a onepiece measuring chamber was to be produced. Accordingly, the measuring chamber described is composed of two parts.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,599,446 and 2,743,849 disclose measuring chamber inserts for sealing a container neck. The inserts, however, require the bore to be in one side of the chamber insert rather than in the center of the insert. Only one discharge port can be used with each of the structures described thereby limiting the amount of liquid discharged at one time.
It is also noted that U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,446 teaches the use of a downward angle with the discharqe port for directing liquid through the port and into the recess of the measuring chamber.
Accordingly, the art does not teach a one-piece injection molded measuring and dispensing apparatus with a central upstanding member having discharge ports formed in the side walls of the upstanding member or a method of making such a one-piece apparatus by injection molding.